AGENDA ITEM REPORT
TITLE:
title
A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION, DISPOSITION, AND REPORTING OF CITY VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT DECLARED TOTAL LOSSES FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES.
body
BACKGROUND:
The City periodically experiences losses of vehicles and equipment that are declared total losses by the City’s insurance carrier as a result of accidents, damage, or other covered events. In such cases, the City is required to transfer title to the insurance carrier in order to complete the insurance settlement.
Pursuant to Section 35.4 (Approval Authority) of the City’s Procurement Policies and Procedures Manual, City property with a value exceeding $5,000 must be declared surplus and presented to the City Commission prior to final disposition.
While this process supports accountability and transparency, it can result in delays when applied to vehicles and equipment that are already inoperable, unusable, and designated as total losses by the insurance carrier. These delays may also result in extended storage of wrecked vehicles and administrative inefficiencies.
Chapter 274, Florida Statutes, governs the classification and disposition of surplus property and authorizes municipal governing bodies to exercise reasonable discretion in determining the method and timing of disposition of surplus assets, including property that is obsolete, uneconomical to repair, or without commercial value.
DISCUSSION:
This resolution establishes an administrative process that allows City-owned vehicles and equipment that have been formally declared total losses by the City’s insurance carrier to be immediately classified as surplus property and administratively disposed of for the sole purpose of completing insurance settlements.
Under this process, upon written confirmation of a total loss determination and approval by the Director of Finance and Administrative Services, the Procurement Division is authorized to release title and related documentation directly to the insurance carrier or its authorized agent. This approach allows insurance settlements to be completed promptly, reduces unnecessary storage and handling costs, and improves operational efficiency.
To ensure continued transparency and compliance with Chapter 274, Florida Statutes, all vehicles and equipment disposed of under this administrative process will be reported to the City Commission as “report-only” items on the next available surplus agenda. The report will identify the asset, disposition method, and insurance settlement reference for record-keeping purposes.
This resolution does not eliminate Commission oversight of surplus property; rather, it streamlines the disposition process for a narrow category of assets that are already inoperable and have no further governmental use, while maintaining appropriate post-disposition disclosure.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this resolution.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A